Can we isolate the church from all potential conflicts of interest?

It is impossible to isolate a church from all potential conflicts of interest (certainly not as long as human beings are involved). Preventing all conflicts of interest should not be the goal. In fact, in certain cases, a transaction between the church and someone with a potential conflict of interest may provide an advantage to the church, financially and otherwise.

The critical point for churches is to ensure they have appropriate procedures in place—in the form of a board-approved conflict of interest policy—to handle these situations with excellence and integrity when they occur.

Dan Busby is a certified public accountant and president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).